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For a video of President Linwood Rose’s press conference breezejmu.org Serving James Madison University Since 1922 breezejmu.org
Vol. 87, No. 27 Thursday, December 9, 2010
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“T .”
Rose to leave in 2012
After 12 years as James Madison University’s president, Linwood Rose announces he will end his service.
TOP LEFT AND RIGHT PAUL JONES / THE BREEZE BOTTOM LEFT PHOTO THE BREEZE ARCHIVES
During a press conference Wednesday in the Montpelier Room, President Linwood Rose announced he will end his presidency in June 2012. JMU’s top faculty and administrators attended the event. BOTTOM LEFT On Sept. 9, 1998 Rose was appointed as the president of JMU after serving as the interim president when Ronald Carrier retired.
By MOLLY HAAS The Breeze
The search is on for the next president of JMU. President Linwood Rose announced yesterday he would be ending his service in June . Rose held a press conference to reflect on what will be almost years as president, following a rise through other positions at JMU. With a quivering voice, Rose recalled his inaugural speech and said he was overwhelmed with emotion, standing before the university’s top administrators in the Montpelier Room above E-Hall. “I had the good fortune to work in this force field of positive thinking every day of my professional life at Madison,” he said. Rose, , began at JMU in as the assistant director of residence halls and was continuously promoted until he was appointed to be the executive vice
president in . In , JMU created the chief operating officer position, and Rose served as both the executive vice president and the chief operating officer until . On Sept. , , Rose was appointed university president, after working as the acting president since , for the final few months of former president Ronald Carrier’s career as he left to fundraise. In his speech, Rose expressed his gratitude to all faculty, staff and students. “Rather than buildings, $ million or new programs, I would prefer to be responsible for creating the conditions for faculty to flourish at JMU,” he said. Rose also thanked his two sons and wife, Judith, for their support during his term. “She has experienced firsthand the joy … but she has also shared my frustration and disappointment with difficult decisions,” he said. “I am deeply appreciative of her support and encouragement and my love for her knows no bounds.”
Jim Hartman, the rector of the Board of Visitors, said while this may not be a happy occassion, looking back shows the joys of Rose’s reign.
“In the ‘Rose Years,’ if I may call them that, most every aspect of the university has been improved” Jim Hartman
rector of Board of Visitors
“In the ‘Rose Years,’ if I may call them that, most every aspect of the university has been improved,” he said. Since Rose’s appointment in , the university has added buildings, academic programs, expanded . million square feet, increased enrollment by percent and established a Phi Beta
Kappa chapter. Rose also increased the four-year graduation rate by percent to percent. During his presidency, Rose saw the renovation of Miller and Gibbons Halls and began plans for a biotechnology building, Duke Hall and the new Bridgeforth Stadium. In explaining why choosing now to leave, Rose said this is the time for new leadership as JMU goes through the process of -year accreditation and a new strategic programming plan. Rose said it would not make sense for him to begin those processes and leave before they are completed. Rose said he did not want to leave the university in tough budget years. After the Centennial Celebration in , Rose’s successful capital fundraising campaign and $ million designated by the governor for higher education, the economy is rebounding, he said. Senior Dan Smolkin, student representative to the Board of Visitors, said
each of JMU’s four previous presidents has left the university in a good place for a new leader. He says Rose will be no different. “It’s absolutely incredible to look at the amount of progress we’ve had under Rose,” Smolkin said, adding that East Campus was only just starting when Rose began as president. And over the next year and a half, Rose said there is still much to be done. “There are two legislative sessions and four commencements,” he said “There will be no ‘winding down.’ ” Joseph Damico, a member of the Board of Visitors, will chair the search committee to appoint the new president, which will begin in the next several weeks, Hartman said. The next Board of Visitors meeting will be on Jan. , . from front
see ROSE, page 4
The committee will be made up of
Following Rose through 35 years at JMU May ‘85 June ‘79
Director of Residence Aug. ‘75 Halls and Assistant Director Commuting of Residence Halls Student at JMU Services
Feb. ‘74
Residence Hall Director, University of Tennessee
July ‘76
Associate Director of Residence Halls and Commuting Student Services
Aug. ‘82
Assistant. to the President and Director of Special Projects at JMU
Sep. ‘81
Educational Leave
Executive Assistant to the President
Aug. ‘85
Deputy Secretary of Education, Commonwealth of Va.
V.P. for Administration and Finance
May ‘94
Senior V.P.
Executive Assistant to the President
July ‘97
Dec.‘95 Chief Operating Officer
Dec. 8, ‘10
Appointed by President George W. Bush to the National Infrastructure Advisory Committee
Executive V.P Acting President
June ‘91
May ‘84 Jan. ‘86 Assistant V.P. for University Relations
Fall ‘02
May ‘87
Announced resignation from presidency, effective 2012
Sep. 9, ‘98
May ‘10
5th President
Appointed by Governor Bob McDonnell to the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation and Investment
May ‘86
V.P. for Administration
12/9 INSIDE
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NEWS Answering a patriotic call
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OPINION Christmas vs. holiday
Annual ceremony prompts online outrage.
9
LIFE Filmtastic
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SPORTS Tale of two teams
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